Replaceable false bottom for containers



1956 T. M. GEORGE ETAL REPLACEABLE FALSE BOTTOM FQR CONTAINERS Filed Sept. 14, 1953 INVENTORS M G e we BYBeQ i Theodor-e r1 c e George REPLACEABLE FALSE BOTTOM FOR CONTAINERS Theodore M. George and Beatrice George, Portland, Greg.

Application September 14, 1953, Serial No. 379,946

3 Claims. (Cl. 220-68) Our invention relates to garbage cans or refuse receptacles of conventional form. The principal object of our invention is to provide a can of this character with a false bottom which will protect the fixed bottom thereof. If said false bottom is installed when the receptacle is new, it will receive and resist blows which would indent and deform said fixed bottom. If said false bottom is installed after the fixed bottom has been dented, broken or rusted through, then it will serve with the marginal portions of said fixed bottom to provide a fluid-tight joint with the remainder of the body of said container.

Our experience is that said refuse containers are usable for long periods of time but frequently become dented or brokenv or rust through. They are usually made of galvanized sheet steel and the blows to which they are subjected and the consequent distortion cause the fixed bottoms to rest upon the ground where they are subject to moisture and cracking of the galvanized sheathing to such an extent that, after a period of time, the protecting sheathing breaks through, they rust through, and make the refuse can unusable. Because of the fact that such refuse cans are sold on quite a competitive market, they are of low cost and the insertion of a new bottom into the otherwise undamaged body involves a cost out of proportion to the cost of a new container.

We have discovered that such a refuse can may either be initially protected by the insertion therein of a' relatively inexpensive false bottom, or may be repaired by the insertion of said false bottom within the container. overlying the fixed bottom thereof which has become rusted or otherwise broken, and said false bottom will serve with the imperforate portions of said fixed bottom to return the refuse receptacle to good operating condition. This is for the reason that, in use, said refuse containers tend to bow downwardly under the influence of'blows and by resisting the weight of refuse, and thus it is the central portion of said fixed bottom which usually breaks or rusts through. The marginal portions are unbroken and provide suflicient structural strength to serve as. a sturdy mounting for a false bottom embodying our invention.

Another practical limitation is that, to repair such refuse containers within economic limits, it is necessary that such false bottom be insertable by the user rather than by a. craftsman called in to make such repair.

The. object of our invention is thus attained by making a false bottom of a disk of metal conforming to the shape of the fixed bottom member and being only slightly smaller than the internal diameter thereof, thus to lie in close proximity to the margins of the annular body of said receptacle. Said disk constitutes a false bottom and is provided with a stud extending downwardly through the fixed bottom and having secured thereto a spanner which underlies and engages the fixed bottom. A threaded joining means holds said disk member and said spanner in tightly, opposed relationship to the opposite faces of the fixed bottom, so that'said false bot-tom is held tightly against longitudinal or lateral displacement. We prefer- 2,760,675 Patented Aug. 28, 1956 ably arrange a sealing member between opposed faces of said false bottom and the marginal edges of the fixed bottom so as to prevent leakage between said parts, and said sealing member preferably overlies the upper face of the fixed bottom so that the uncovered margins of the fixed bottom will not be subject to rust or corrosion.

Another factor involving our invention is that said conventional containers are normally provided with a skirt or longitudinally extending flange lying below the fixed bottom, and said skirt or flange protects the fixed bottom against damage and holds said fixed bottom above the plane of the extremity of said skirt or flange. To permit said longitudinally extending skirt or flange to continue to serve its purpose, it is necessary that the spanner which holds the false bottom in place, the joining means, and the free end of the connecting stud all he above the plane of the extremity of said skirt or flange.

To aid a householder or other user of said replaceable false bottom in repairing a damaged refuse container, it is desirable that some means be provided for holding the false bottom in place when the receptacle is overturned in making such repair, and we thus provide a looped handle for holding said false bottom through a hole in the fixed bottom until the spanner and joining means may be secured and cinched up.

Other and further details of our invention are hereinafter described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is. a foreshortened elevation of a receptacle or container for which our invention, is specifically devised, with portions of the annular body adjacent the fixed bottom thereof shown broken away to disclose how a false bottom may be inserted in. said receptacle and span a broken portion, of the fixed bottom without disturbing the function of said receptacle as it is originally designed,

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the under surface of said receptacle, looking at a broken section of the fixed floor thereof with the joining means and the spanner for holding said false bottom in place; and

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of portions of said false floor, the fixed floor, and the fastening means by which said false floor is held in place over a ruptured fixed bottom.

Our invention is shown in connection with a more or less conventional type of garbage can, in. which the. fixed bottom-has become broken or rusted away and. thus in need of repair. it is to be understood that this is merely one conventional use for our invention. Such type of: garbage can comprises an annular body 1, having a fixed bottom member 2 joined thereto. Said fixed bottommember usually is joined to the body member by a. rolled crimp 3 at the extremity or lowest portion of the longitudinally extending flange or skirt portion 4. Said rolled crimp joins said two pieces together and the depth of said flange or skirt portion causes the fixed floor to lie substantially above the plane of the lowermost portion of said rolled crimp. The width of said skirt portion thus defines a substantial space or chamber 5 lying between the bottom member and encompassed by the flange or skirt portion 4. Said garbage can normally is provided with an open mouth closed by a removable cover 6. It is to this particular type of receptacle that our invention is specifically devised.

If it is desired to arrange a false bottom in said garbage can while it is new, this is done by forming an aperture in the fixed bottom member substantially at the center thereof. An annular disk may then be arranged with its flange portion in arranged downwardly and in engagement with bottom member, as is illustrated in Fig. 1.

be passed through the hole in said fixed bottom and have ground level and the under surface of the fixed the upper surface of the fixed A stud 8' may a spanner 9 threaded thereover and held in clamping arrangement with the under surface of the fixed bottom member by means of a wing nut 10.

The spanner member preferably is channel shaped, that is of U-shaped section, as is shown most clearly in Fig. 3. Lying within the longitudinal flanges of said spanner is an insert 9a. Said insert is either tapped or smooth bored and fits tightly over the stud 8 and bears against the undersurface of the fixed bottom member 2. The tension developed in the stud by means of the wing nut causes the opposed faces of said insert and the under surface of the fixed bottom to abut closely, and said insert thus seals any aperture about the stud to prevent any leakage through the fixed bottom member. In new installations, we preferably arrange an annular piece of sealing material 11 intermediate the downturned flange portion 7a of the disk 7 and the upper surface of the fixed bottom member 2 to prevent leakage. Said annular sealing material is preferably cup-shaped, as is shown in Fig. l, with the bottom portion 11a overlying that portion of the fixed bottom member not covered by the disk 7. An upturned rim portion 11b lies closely within the inner surface of the annular body 1 and prevents any accumulated moist-ore within the trough lying about the peripheral margin of the disk 7 from producing rust or corrosion in the fixed floor.

If said false bottom is inserted in a garbage can in which the fixed floor has become rusted through, in the manner illustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawings, it is desirable, but not essential, that such type of sealing material be inserted between the false bottom and the floor. This is for the reason that the false bottom, although ruptured in the center and strongly supported at its margins, has only limited life, and the false bottom is only to cover and seal the ruptured or rusted portion of said bottom member.

As has been pointed out heretofore, the rusting and corrosion of said bottom member is usually preceded by denting or otherwise damaging blows to which it is subjected in use, and thus the bottom is no longer plane and the broken portion 12 in the center thereof is not only irregular in profile but laterally deformed, as is illustrated in Fig. 1. Thus the spanner member 9 not only must bridge said broken portion 12, but also must span the irregular margins thereof. Said spanner also must be quite rigid so as to resist deformation, thus to hold the remaining portions of said bottom member against bending, and also to hold the peripheral portions of the disk 7 tightly against either the sealing member 11, if one is inserted, or against the upper surface of the fixed bottom member 2. To provide said stiffness, and yet to form the opposing surface thereof so as to span said irregular and jagged aperture, we form the terminal end of the spanner with down-turned flange portions 9b at both ends thereof. These constitute feet for engaging the under surface of the fixed bottom member because said flange portions are longer or deeper than the longitudinal flanges 90 forming the U-shaped or channellike spanner. If the spanner is made of sufficiently heavy gauge material, it is not necessary to weld or otherwise join said flange portions 9b to the longitudinal flanges 9c of the spanner. If lighter weight material is used, such welding is desirable because this forms the spanner into an integral box-shaped structure which is quite stiff and rigid.

As can be noted in Fig. l, the diameter of the disk 7, and particularly the marginal portions of the flange por tion 7a, lies in close proximity to the inner surface of the annular body 1. The spacing of the feet 9b of the spanner is slightly less than the diameter of the flange portion 7a, and thus these parts do not oppose each other exactly but produce a bending moment in the bottom member 2, which deforms the bottom member slightly and tends to prevent the disk from sliding laterally in the receptacle even though said lateral sliding might be lib .4 slight because of the close tolerance between the margins of the disk and the inner surface of the annular body.

The stud is provided with a fixed end or head So which engages both surfaces of the disk 7. That is to say, a riveted head 8b engages the upper face of said disk and a collar engages the under surface thereof. The free or distant end 80? of said stud is threaded to engage the tapped portion of the wing nut 10 in the usual manner.

A pivoted looped handle 13 is joined to the under surface of the disk 7 and is used to hold said disk 7, constituting the false bottom, tightly in position when the receptacle is overturned in repairing a broken bottom. That is to say, said pivoted looped handle lies adjacent the center of said disk and may be gripped by the person making such repair inserting his finger through the loop and holding it tightly in position while the spanner and the wing nut are fitted in position on the stud and tightened down. Thereafter, said loop may be arranged flatwise against the under surface of the disk so as to be out of the way. Such type of handle is not needed where the false bottom is arranged in a new, imperforate fixed bottom, as when it is inserted in a new garbage can. When said false bottom is inserted in a new garbage can, it is our experience that said false bottom will wear or rust away first and will keep the fixed bottom from deteriorating. If said false bottom becomes unusable, it may easily be removed and a new one inserted therefor.

I claim:

In combination with a container having an annular body and a fixed bottom member joined to the body by a longitudinally extending flange projecting substantially below the plane of said bottom member, a replaceable false bottom for said container, said false bottom including a disk member of slightly smaller size than said fixed bottom member, and thus to lie in close proximity to the margins of said annular body, said disk member terminating in a laterally projecting peripheral flange which is in contact with the fixed bottom member, a stud joined at one end to said disk member and having its free end extending generally normal to said disk member in the direction of said peripheral flange, a spanner pierced to receive said stud and being of such length as to span the major portion of said disk member and adapted to underlie and engage the fixed bottom member, said spanner being of channel section and having downturned end portions to form spaced terminal feet members, joining means on said stud for drawing the spanner and said disk member toward each other, said spanner, the free end of said stud, and said joining means all being of such compass as to lie within the space encompassed by the laterally extending flange of said container.

2. In combination with a container having an annula body and a fixed bottom member joined to the body by a longitudinally extending flange projecting substantially below the plane of said bottom member, a replaceable false bottom for said container, said false bottom including a disk member of slightly smaller size than said fixed bottom member, and thus to lie in close proximity to the margins of said annular body, said disk member terminating in a laterally projecting peripheral flange which is in contact with the fixed bottom member, a threaded stud joined at one end to said disk member and having its free end extending generally normal to said disk member in the direction of said peripheral flange, a spanner of channel section pierced to receive said stud and being of such length as to span the major portion of said disk member and adapted to underlie and engage the fixed bottom member, joining means including a threaded member on said stud for drawing the spanner and said disk member to-' ward each other, said spanner, the free end of said stud, and said joining means all being of such compass as to lie within the space encompassed by the laterally extending flange of said refuse container.

3. In combination with a container having an annular body and a fixed bottom member joined to the body by a longitudinally extending fia 11ge projecting substantially below the plane of said bottom member, a replaceable false bottom for said container, said false bottom including a disk member of slightly smaller size than said fixed bottom member, and thus to lie in close proximity to the margins of said annular body, said disk member terminating in a laterally projecting peripheral flange which is in contact with the fixed bottom member, a stud joined at one end to said disk member and having its free end extending generally normal to said disk member in the direction of said peripheral flange, a spanner pierced to receive said stud and being of such length as to span the major portion of said disk member and adapted to underlie and engage the fixed bottom member, joining means on said stud for drawing the spanner and said disk member toward each other, said spanner, the free end of said stud, and said joining means all being of such compass as to lie within the space encompassed by the laterally extending flange of said container, a sealing member lying intermediate said disk member and the fixed bottom of said container, said sealing member extending laterally beyond the margins of said disk member and extending upwardly Within the inner surface of the annular body of said container.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS D. 137,620 Cohen Apr. 4, 1944 547,224 McLaughlin Oct. 1, 1895 571,380 Lisk Nov. 17, 1896 1,425,195 Griffiths Aug. 8, 1922 2,569,914 Appleton Oct. 2, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 157,691 Great Britain Jan. 27, 1921 611,386 Great Britain Oct. 28, 1948 

